The push for East African integration has received a major boost following renewed efforts by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to create an East African Federation. The proposed formation of an East African political federation aims to create a joint military command under a single defence structure.

The proposed political federation, which would bring together eight East African Community member states, not only aims to create a shared space programme to protect member states from external attacks but also establish a joint regional navy to protect landlocked partner states.

Besides creating a united institution to protect member states against external attacks, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has noted that the framework would play a significant role in resolving questions around national loyalty and citizenship.

The Ugandan President’s decades-old push for an East African political federation intends to deepen relationships between East African member states while enhancing regional security by integrating the armed forces of Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Somalia, Rwanda, South Sudan, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo into a single military force.

“We are in the East African Community, yet we don’t have a united defence. You find Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, each with their own defence,” President Museveni said. President Museveni further cited the importance of creating a united military capacity as a way of enhancing regional security.

As the Chair of the East African Community Heads of State Summit, President Museveni has renewed his push for partner states to adopt a proposal to create a unified political confederation.

While President Museveni’s two-decade attempt to create a united political front for East African Community member states is touted as a unifying factor, contrasting political systems, national sovereignty, economic disparities, constitutional differences, and mistrust among EAC partner states have been major impediments to its implementation.